NEWTON, Iowa – Victor Franzoni finished off the weekend at Iowa Speedway just outside of the top five in the Mazda Iowa 100 Presented by Cooper Tires. The rookie took home sixth for Juncos Racing in the Indy Lights Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

The sixth weekend of the Indy Lights Championship kicked off on a high note for Juncos Racing rookie Victor Franzoni, who was making his first appearance at Iowa Speedway. The young Brazilian had a impressive and strong practice session, leading the field until 10 minutes to go. Qualifying on the short 0.894-mile oval followed later that day, and Franzoni would take the seventh starting position.

Warm and sunny conditions greeted fans for the 100 laps of the Mazda Iowa 100 Presented by Cooper Tires. A green-to-checkered race ended the weekend with little passing among the field during Round 10 of the championship. Franzoni, driving the No. 23 Soul Red Mazda earned the fastest lap of the race, however would only gain one spot to finish sixth.

“So the race did not go as planned for us,” said Franzoni. “We started seventh and finished sixth so we were only able to gain one position. The race was difficult, we didn’t have any yellow flags and there was not many chances to try to pass during the entire race. Everyone was just following each other. It was a good experience, but not the result we wanted. The car was great, we did the fastest lap in the race. Now we will move on and head to Toronto this week!”

Team principal Ricardo Juncos said, “We started off this weekend pretty strong leading most of the first practice session. Victor has had no testing, and not close to the amount of track time the rest of the drivers have had. I am very impressed with how well he did and I know this experience is very important for the next oval. The team put together a great car during May and took that momentum here to Iowa. Victor did a great job even though he did not get the results he hoped for. Onto Toronto this week where we have proven to be strong in the Mazda Road to Indy series.”

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires continues July 13-15 with Rounds 11 and 12 on the streets of Toronto.